Santa Came Early! - Need Help Accessorizing & Organizing
 

Merry Christmas to all here! I got a new Weather Guard tool box for Christmas - the big one! So excited about it as I have needed had one. I’m waiting to secure it down because I want to accessorize it, make upgrade/modifications, and organize it before I just dump everything in it. Looking forward to see what all you guys come up with and can suggest!! Go!

Here are pictures.......

Very nice! Weather Guard is a great brand. We used them in the fleet I worked for. Good corrosion resistance. My one suggestion would be to put the heaviest and most frequently used items closest to the outside of the box. Lesser used items and lightweight stuff in the middle. Two reasons for this, much easier to lift the heavy stuff when your feet are flat on the ground and the weight close to you, also less chance of bending the bottom of the box with the weight near the bedsides. Not so much an issue with a metal box, but could be with a plastic one. I like the looks of yours and it goes very well with your truck. Santa was good to you!

Anybody have any good ideas on how to make the box a little nicer, add some useful features, or some good organization ideas???

So far I’ve thought of adding some type of non skid liner or carpet to the inside, adding lights to inside, maybe adding a short extension cord through the electrical grommet for battery chargers or something else, maybe adding a custom panel for the inside of the lid with the IH logo or something else just to make it look nice. I want to keep it as clean as possible in there so if we travel we can also throw one of my wife’s bags in there.

I would have got a low profile one, but that is just my preference.
I put a piece of 3/4 plywood on the bottom for better support in my work truck.
Lights, one that uses batteries, in case you leave it on so it wont kill the truck battery.

I used to say that too but after looking at them closely I like the tall one better. It doesn’t take any window sight away at all because the rear seat headrests are taller than the box when folded down.

The plywood idea isn’t bad.....I could use that or 1/2 inch and glue carpet to that and I could also screw dividers to that and make compartments, etc. without having to attach directly to the box and “mess it up”.

On my last one, i used milk crates to organize the extra fluids or straps or whatever. But they slid. So an old rubber tailgate mat I had laying around made a nice antiskid mat once trimmed. I use J-bolts and fender washers to mount it because I dont like drilling holes kn my truck.

Nice present, and nice truck too!

thank you!!

I just see the lake house?...dang!

Yeah its a nice place. That is the Tennessee River in the background.

1st Idea
 

I’ve put together a couple of (bad) drawings showing my first idea. Thinking of using a thin shiny aluminum diamond plate for this. A few of my concerns are:

(a) I will attach the hinge to the boxed-in void area of the lid so no holes will protrude through the box…..what is best way to attach so it doesn’t work its way loose?

(b) Should I weld aluminum flat bar or angle around the diamond plate on the 3 outer side to strengthen and allow the foam to be “encased”?

(c) If this is do-able do you know anyone that does laser cutting? Price? If too expensive, it MIGHT work out cutting that logo with a cutting blade on a grinder.

Here is a rough idea of what I am talking about (plain reference pictures first, my drawings, & an example of tool foam at the end). Colors by no means are demonstrating what I am wanting with finished product, except for the IH logo. In these drawings, they are just for clarity. After looking at this, let me know if you have any questions. Dimensions of the rectangular recessed area in the lid are 69 inches long x 9 3/8 inches tall. I didn’t get a depth measurement.

Be aware that any additional weight on the top may make it not stay up over time.

I have thought of that, and I will try to put together an approximate added weight. I don't feel that it would be substantial enough to hurt it drastically as the lid opens 90 degrees max with it being about 80 degrees at rest. Also, if the gas shocks last a couple years I am ok with that.